Sheffield and South Yorkshire Options Report
Total Page:16
File Type:pdf, Size:1020Kb
HS2 Phase Two Sheffield and South Yorkshire Options Report July 2016 CS550B High Speed Two (HS2) Limited has been tasked by the Department for Transport (DfT) with managing the delivery of a new national high speed rail network. It is a non-departmental public body wholly owned by the DfT. High Speed Two (HS2) Limited, One Canada Square, Canary Wharf, London E14 5AB Telephone: 020 7944 4908 General email enquiries: [email protected] Website: www.gov.uk/hs2 High Speed Two (HS2) Limited has actively considered the needs of blind and partially sighted people in accessing this document. The text will be made available in full on the HS2 website. The text may be freely downloaded and translated by individuals or organisations for conversion into other accessible formats. If you have other needs in this regard please contact High Speed Two (HS2) Limited. © High Speed Two (HS2) Limited, 2016, except where otherwise stated. Copyright in the typographical arrangement rests with High Speed Two (HS2) Limited. This information is licensed under the Open Government Licence v2.0. To view this licence, visit www.nationalarchives.gov.uk/doc/open-government-licence/ version/2 or write to the Information Policy Team, The National Archives, Kew, London TW9 4DU, or e-mail: [email protected]. Where we have identified any third-party copyright information you will need to obtain permission from the copyright holders concerned. Printed in Great Britain on paper containing at least 75% recycled fibre. HS2 Sheffield and South Yorkshire Options Report Contents Executive summary 2 Summary of technical options 4 High speed services to Meadowhall Station 4 High speed services to Sheffield Midland Station 4 High speed services to Sheffield Victoria Station 4 Classic-compatible spur 5 Structure of this report 5 1 Policy background and demand context 6 Timeline 6 Policy background for HS2 in South Yorkshire 7 Regional demand 8 Demand in Sheffield City Region 9 Implications for station selection 10 Phase Two route consultation 11 Northern Powerhouse Rail (NPR) 11 HS2 in the context of NPR 11 Emerging conclusions about what NPR means for HS2 plans 12 Implications for HS2 route and stations in South Yorkshire 13 2 Serving South Yorkshire with high speed stations 14 Introduction 14 South Yorkshire Hub: Meadowhall 14 Route and location 15 Key facts 17 Assessment 17 Sheffield Meadowhall – constructability 20 Sheffield Midland high speed station options 20 Route and location 21 Key facts 21 Assessment 21 Sheffield Victoria high speed station 24 1 HS2 Sheffield and South Yorkshire Options Report Route and location 24 Key facts 26 Assessment 26 3 Serving South Yorkshire with classic-compatible services 30 3.1 Route and key facts 30 3.2 Assessment of classic-compatible services via the Erewash Valley line 30 Wider connectivity 32 Assessment of the HS2 Eastern leg – the ‘M18 / Eastern Route’ 32 Key facts 33 Route 33 Assessment 33 4 Summary 37 List of figures Figure 1: Population and employment maps for the Eastern leg 9 Figure 2: Rail demand in South Yorkshire 10 Figure 3: Current journey times and TfN journey time targets 12 Figure 4: Meadowhall high speed station location 14 Figure 5: Meadowhall consultation route 16 Figure 6: Sheffield Midland high speed station route 23 Figure 7: Sheffield Victoria high speed station location 24 Figure 8: Sheffield Victoria route 25 Figure 9: M18/Eastern Route including classic-compatible services via the Erewash Valley line 31 Figure 10: M18/Eastern Route including Sheffield to Leeds link 35 Figure 11: Alternative classic-compatible services via the Wales spur 36 2 HS2 Sheffield and South Yorkshire Options Report Executive summary This report provides the technical background to the four options presented in the report on Sheffield and South Yorkshire 2016. These options are summarised below: • a high speed rail station at Meadowhall • a high speed rail station at Sheffield Midland • a high speed rail station at Sheffield Victoria • a classic-compatible spur serving Sheffield Midland station. Responding to the demand for HS2 in South Yorkshire is particularly complex. Engineering challenges like South Yorkshire’s industrial legacy, environmental constraints such as settlements and landscape features, and the distributed pattern of demand mean that no single option so far suggested is clearly preferred. Whatever route HS2 takes through South Yorkshire and whatever station the new services stop at must also work for the other regions that HS2 serves. One of HS2’s strategic goals is to contribute to rebalancing the UK’s economic geography. Therefore any solution we develop needs to drive economic growth, support regeneration, and run as far as possible with the grain of local aspirations for development. In March 2015, the Government and Transport for the North (TfN) published a joint Northern Transport Strategy. This sets out clear plans for developing the northern rail network in future years. Northern Powerhouse Rail (NPR) will connect major cities in an east-west axis. As another of HS2’s strategic goals is connectivity with the existing rail and wider transport network, synergies with NPR are an important consideration and the technical practicalities of this for HS2 are reflected in this report. Any technical proposal we make must deliver value for taxpayers’ money, recognising that HS2 is a very substantial investment. We have sought to develop a solution within the budget envelope for HS2 established in the recent Spending Review. Station location Route Journey time Journey time Estimated London - Sheffield London - Leeds (non-stop) cost impact Meadowhall via Don Valley / M1 68 mins to Meadowhall 81 mins to Leeds BASE CASE (high speed) c.78 mins to Sheffield Midland + stopping time for services that stop at Meadowhall Sheffield Midland via city centre 66 mins to Sheffield Midland 81 mins to Leeds +£2bn (high speed) Sheffield Victoria via city centre 69 mins to Sheffield Victoria 84 mins to Leeds +£700m (high speed) + c.10 mins walk to Sheffield Midland Sheffield Midland Main line via M18 / 83 mins to Sheffield (incl. stop 80 mins to Leeds (with no - £1bn1 Station (classic) Eastern Route; spur at Chesterfield) intermediate stop in South to Erewash Valley line Yorkshire for through services) 1 This is for the southern connection into Sheffield Midland only and includes efficiencies and optimism bias. The recent NAO report quotes £768m savings (excludes efficiencies and optimism bias), which includes both the southern connection and northern connection between Sheffield and Leeds. 3 HS2 Sheffield and South Yorkshire Options Report Summary of technical options Each of these options needs to be measured against the following criteria: demand and transport benefits across HS2 the needs of Sheffield and the wider region connectivity with existing rail and integration into the wider transport network topography, urban density and environment affordability. High speed services to Meadowhall Station We consulted on a new station at Meadowhall in July 2013, and after continued consideration this report reflects the difficulties of delivering a high speed line into Sheffield city centre. Although delivering a station at Meadowhall would have some major impacts on significant local employers and development sites, and there are some engineering challenges at this location, our work to date suggests that this is a constructible option. Meadowhall offers good connections to Sheffield city centre and other regional centres thanks to strong tram and rail connectivity. Although effective as an interchange station, the scope for Meadowhall to drive local regeneration is likely to be lower in comparison to a city centre station. A station at Meadowhall does not provide connections to the city centre of Sheffield in line with the aspirations of the Northern Powerhouse Rail programme. High speed services to Sheffield Midland Station In theory, connecting to the existing city centre station, Sheffield Midland, with a new high speed alignment could provide fast services that are well integrated with local and regional rail networks, supporting national and regional connectivity, as well as driving growth in Sheffield city centre. The engineering challenges of constructing a new railway through the middle of Sheffield and the significant risk of flooding means that HS2 Ltd does not believe this city centre option to be cost- effective or sustainable. High speed services to Sheffield Victoria Station Recognising the strong preference of Sheffield City Council and some other local stakeholders for a station in Sheffield city centre, HS2 Ltd has developed technical plans for an alternative option on the site of the disused Victoria Station. This has the advantage that it offers greater opportunity for local regeneration than Meadowhall, but the disadvantage that Sheffield Victoria is a significant distance from Midland station and is not connected to the existing rail network. Linking effectively with the Northern Powerhouse Rail programme would require an additional station on the classic network. Our work suggests that it is technically feasible to deliver this route and station. However this option comes at a significantly higher cost than the Meadowhall option. 4 HS2 Sheffield and South Yorkshire Options Report Classic-compatible spur Serving South Yorkshire with a spur to the classic network represents a different approach from the three considered above. The challenges in South Yorkshire that we have already mentioned make it feasible to look at separating the issues of providing a core HS2 service to South Yorkshire from the HS2 route going north. A spur to Midland Station via the Erewash line would provide classic-compatible high speed services into Sheffield city centre (with an option to stop at Chesterfield), and the scope for these services to extend past Sheffield to serve the wider region. This would link in with Transport for the North’s aspirations of better connecting the cities of the North to the wider network. The additional scope to reconnect into the HS2 network north of Sheffield and create a loop is explored in Section 3.